St. Joseph's College Library offers a wide-range of resources (both digital and print) to support the curriculum. There is also a large fiction and magazine collection to encourage recreational reading.
The Library is open before school at 8:00 am ( Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday) and closes at 4:30pm every day. It is open during every lunchtime and on Friday lunchtimes holds its popular “Movie Day” where a G or PG movie is shown to help the students wind down after a busy week.
Students are welcome to use the 24 computers available as well as the colour photocopier and printers. Senior boys are able to borrow cameras, tripods and related equipment for extended periods of time.
Literacy in the Library
All students in Years 7 and 8 have one lesson per week timetabled into the Library for wide reading. From January to September, the boys take part in the Victorian Premier’s Reading Challenge (VPRC), which sees them “challenge” themselves to read 15 books in this time. In 2011, Students from St Josephs read 5500 books for the VPRC and nearly 250 successfully met or bettered the challenge.
In October, students are given the opportunity to also compete in “Literacy Week”. This is a week-long series of competitions and games that assist to develop literacy skills in a fun way. From Scrabble and Boggle championships, to Literacy Trivia and brain-teasers, over sixty students battle it out for their name on the Literacy Week shield.
At certain times of the year, St Joseph’s College Library holds host to talks by visiting authors of young adult literature. These authors also conduct writing workshops for interested students and are available to sign copies of their works and give tips to students on writing.
Technology in the Library
St. Joseph’s College Library offers a unique program for students who may wish to pursue a career in a technological field. Selected boys are trained in Occupational Health and Safety, handling of audio-visual equipment and problem-solving to attain the status of “TechMate”. Successful “TechMates” assist teachers in the classrooms with laptops, cameras and data projectors and hold the position for the duration of their time at St. Josephs. Past “TechMates” now work in information technology and audio-visual fields.
The Library uses the AIMS/Masterfile Library system which melds digital and print resources - including e-books and e-binders - and provides a direct gateway to the most relevant and appropriate internet content for student use. The school subscribes to The Age on-line and other useful indexes through the Masterfile system.
St. Joseph's College Library offers a wide-range of resources (both digital and print) to support the curriculum. There is also a large fiction and magazine collection to encourage recreational reading.
Masterfile